Hi there!
I haven't decided whether or not I should join because I'm not sure how much I would be able add to this conversation as a straight girl who hasn't overall had much experience in romance! I think my posts would be a trifle boring, but still I wanted to at least swing by and compliment this club. It is a very vibrant place! I also want to say that I support LBGT rights and human rights for everyone. We are all brothers and sisters, and must love each other. I see everyone here at pokecommunity as my family.
I was really moved by reading different life experiences written by my pokecommunity family here, and want to wish everyone good luck, whether you are in a beautiful and promising relationship with the person you love, still looking for your soul mate or perhaps simply waiting for the day that you can come out to the people in your life, may all good things come your way.
I am saddened and angry that many members are still fighting to find acceptance. Hate dies hard it seems. I had a really sheltered life, raised by a very hip, free-spirited and gentle artist mother, and know that I have a family that would support me no matter who I loved and not even make a big deal about it. Reading about the struggles of others has really made me appreciative for what I have, and has reminded me that many people don't have this privilege, and still have to live in fear that they could be outcast, physically hurt, fired, denied their rights just because of who they are.
HI NEW FOLKS.
Welcome to the club!
Here's a topic:
For LGBTQ+: What was your initial coming out process like? If you haven't come out, what is holding you back?
For Allies: Tell us about a time a LGBTQ+ came out to you, or why you believe being an ally is important.
My friend Judith "Jude" came out to me almost 7 years ago now. She was lonely, a virgin, stuck in a backward town she hated and had a difficult family situation with a strict, Lutheran family, a sick father that she was caretaking and a mother who was critical and who I think was psychological abusive. She told me in the most timid of ways that she wished she had a girlfriend and that I would make a nice girlfriend. I naively misunderstood what she meant, saying that we were already gal pals, but when she clarified that she wanted someone who was more than a friend to love I listened and understood. Why wouldn't i? She was my friend. Together we sat and just gossipped away on skype bout our own unrequitted loves, our crushes, our bad dates, with me it was boys, and with her it was girls. We did all the same things together, we wanted the same things, we both wanted love, we just wanted it with different people.
I haven't hung out with Jude in awhile but last I talked to her she was engaged to be married to a sweet young lady and they were thinking about adopting children. I am really happy for her because she was so frustrated and depressed when I first met her and I see how love has just lifted her soul up. She just looked so excited and hopeful, and I am glad because she did not have an easy life and nobody deserves a time for rejoicing more than her.
Wby do I feel it is important to be an ally? Being an ally has been on my mind lately after being in an interracial relationship. It made me more conscientious than ever of how prejudice impacts being able to simply love each other, and the backwards views that still persist in this world that we have to work together and keep fighting against. It was my personal experience that made me draw a parallel, being discriminated against for skin color is just as bad as being discriminated against for sexual orientation, and I want to live in a world where everyone is loved.